Introduction
The recent results of legislative assembly elections in four Indian states – Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal – and the Union Territory of Puducherry indicate a seismic shift in shape and functioning of the country’s electoral politics.
The elections, held in several phases through the month of April – have given a one-sided feat to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while delivering shocking results for its established contenders. The party returned to power in Assam for a consecutive third term; bagged victory in Puducherry UT as a coalition partner; and grabbed a considerable vote share in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, improving its own previous records despite a negligible seat tally. The BJP’s most striking achievement, however, remains in the state of West Bengal where it has fulfilled its longstanding ambition of securing power for the first time ever, that too with a thumping two third majority. Voters in Tamil Nadu have sealed an end for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) – two political rivals inspired by Dravidian identity politics. They have instead elected Tamilaka Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), just a two-year old party founded by actor-turned politician Joseph Vijay, to power. The only satisfying outcome for the leading opposition party Indian National Congress is its return to government in Kerala, where it has ended the 10-year rule of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPI(M).
